Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

Okay my boys are 16 months and I have spent the past week trying to get them to start at least drinking their juice and water out of sippy cups. They won't do it....they actually cry hysterical for minutes when i bring them out. Now they are not getting juice or water which i feel bad about.

I have tried every sippy cup out there....straw cups, nubby cups, regular heavy duty ones. Nothing.

I have even had the sippy cup travel with them from floor, to highchair and the most i get then after the hysterical crying subsides is it gets thrown around or played with.

My doctor told me he wants them off bottles by 18 months and was disappointed that they were still on them at 15 months.

I have no idea what more I can do. All i hear are stories of kids taking the sippy cups at 10 months and whatnot.

What am I doing wrong?? Does anyone have any good stories on how you got your kids to take the sippy cups?? Please share.

Thanks

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

DS is a huge player with sippy cup, until last night. I put his formula in the cup and BAM he drank the whole thing, and just finished his AM one as well.

I have to re introduce juice. I feel he just plays with juice cups.
Just keep trying. They will get it.
When they are thirsty enough, they will realize "Ok, this is it".

Good Luck.

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

hannah is 19 months and still wont drink milk from a cup. juice, water and drinkable yogurts she will drink with no problem from a cup. its just milk. i know i will have to just do it cold turkey and it will probably take a few weeks. my doc said that if she gets enough dairy from cheese, yogurt and some veggies then to not worry about her drinking the milk.

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

Jacob drinks soy milk and water from his sippy cup. My pediatrician recommended to slowly decrease the amount of formula in the bottle and give the sippy cup. So far, so good!

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

I've been told (with a 22 month old still on the bottle) to just take it away and if he's thirsty he will take the cup. My old doctor told me that as well. I think it's more myself because I don't want to deal with the crying and sadness that comes along with getting rid of the bottle. Now that I'm having a baby in 2 months I feel like he has regressed and won''t take a sippy at all.

What I really try to do is not bring a bottle out with me. When we leave the house - it's only sippy. I found that to help quite a bit. He won't drink milk in the sippy at all but..........we were doing great with juices and whatnot when we were out. When you are home - you can also try juice boxes, DS loves the juice box.

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

ds regected the bottle at 3 months so i started him on a sippy at 4 months. he drinks from a spout or a straw now. my trick was to put his favorite food or vitamin on the straw or spout to get him to suck it. he did eventually and i kept dipping in the tip and eventually he just sucked without the flavor.

gl!

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

Thanks for all your advice. I will be trying some of these now. I figure if they still have not done it by their 18 month appt i will check with Ped to make sure i can just make them do without drinks until they take the sippy.

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

Marron got very frustrated with the sippy because she couldn't get the milk out. I took the rubbery "no spill" part out of the cap so that the milk kind of dripped/poured out when you tipped it out so she knew what was in there. I actually bought some of the sippy cups from Tupperware that aren't no-spill. If you want to get some of them, let me know -- I sell Tupperware.

Message edited 1/1/2008 5:56:28 AM.

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

We tried slowly introducing it and it did not work. One day I said no more bottles, hid them and used only sippy cups.

First day was hard, second day was even harder and after Joey drank not one ounce of milk and was screaming his head of, we gave him a bottle, he drank 10 ounces and never again used a bottle. Mattingly transistioned better then Joey, but after 2 days we were done with bottles.

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

DDs will drink from a cup for everything but milk. I have started introducing milk in the sippy, one will drink and one drinks a few sips.

I would be patient you still have a couple of months to go. Just be persistant in offering the sippy cups.

Good luck!

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

have you tried a juice box? I know it's full of sugar - but it can help to learn how to use the strawl Once they figure out the straw - you can start the straw cups. (DS was 18 m when I tried this - but I think he could have done it earlier)

Re: Any Tips on Switching DC to Sippy Cups - I am at my wits end!

We took the bottle away at around 16 months or so I'd say, I don't remember exactly, and to be honest she didn't really ever want milk in her cup until recently when I started making her very light chocolate milk, thinking it was better then nothing. Also, it was probably a year between starting the sipppy cup (6 months) and her really drinking from it (around 18 months) --- for a long time she'd just take a small sip and that was it. We were just patient and eventually she got used to it. Now she drinks like crazy from her sippies.